A Lion's Pride

[Taa Nul]

Void Station:

The shipyards around Void Station were a hive of industrial activity as always, churning out starships for various clients spanning the Outer Rim, while the vast planetoid fortress that the Count resided within lay still within the middle of all those floating factories. A legion of the Count's Battle Droids were amassed in parade formation in the vast main hangar of the fortress, where multiple transports were docked and transferring cargo.

The Count was stood beside his legions, awaiting the arrival of one most special to him by shuttle. His daughter had been away for a long time now, and he had long awaited the opportunity to see her once more.

[member="Isabele Morcus"]

 

[Songbird]

Void station. The woman had mixed feelings about the factory within an asteroid. It was the basis of her father's fortune, and therefore was directly tied to her own success and wellbeing. But it was also stifling. Isabele often felt trapped within it's walls, trapped with the hordes of droids and starships. As a child, she had often been tended to by the droids instead of organic beings, and as a woman, she was always unsettled by their presence. But her father had summoned her, and Lady Isabele Morcus was not one to ignore summons.

So it was for that reason she found herself on a shuttle to meet [member="Count Morcus"] at the massive structure. Her hood was pulled down, allowing others to see her brown hair, kept out of the way with a tie. Isabele hated having her hood down, preferring the security of the garment around her head. But she understood that her father enjoyed seeing her face, so the hood was down. For now.
As the shuttle landed, Isabele took a deep breath and exited, looking upon the legions of battle droids. Her father always loved things like that. Spotting the man in question, she made her way over, bowing slightly as she came close.
"Hello, father."

 

[Taa Nul]

The Count smiled widely, walking over to give his daughter a warm, welcoming hug after all this time. ''Isabele! It's good to see you after so long. I missed you terribly.....How have you been, my dear girl?'', he said, a hint of pride in his voice. While initially skeptical when his daughter told him she wanted to be an Assassin, he had grown quite proud of the woman she had become over all this time. A familiar face waddled over to greet her aswell, the family's 3-PO series protocol droid which had practically helped raise the girl the best he could. ''Mistress Isabele! Oh! How lovely it is to see you back after so long! Your certainly taller than I remember.'', it said politely, causing the Count to let out a soft chuckle.

[member="Isabele Morcus"]

 

[Songbird]

Isabele returned the hug, smiling. She always liked it when [member="Count Morcus"] gave her attention, especially positive attention like she was receiving. She understood that having an agent for a daughter wasn't easy, especially for a nobleman like him. She was glad that he had encouraged her growth in the field she wished to enter, instead of disowning her like most parents in his position would have. She may not have known her mother, but she felt her father had done a pretty good job with what he had been handed.

As her childhood protocol droid entered and exclaimed how tall she had gotten, Isabele laughed.
"Well, it has been many years, old friend."
She turned back to her father.
"It's good to see you again, father. I see your factory is still hard at work."

 

[Taa Nul]

''Oh, it is. I've been cranking out vessels for our personal fleet and those of my clients. The next phase of our grand design is nearly at hand, but that's a discussion for a later time. For now, come, you must be famished after such a long trip. I've taken the liberty of preparing your favorite meal personally!'', he said, smiling contently. He'd always enjoyed doing a bit of cooking as a hobby, it was something he was rather good at, or at least he hoped he was.

He guided her from the hangar, the B1 battle droids who'd been on parade ''sighing'' with relief. ''Is he gone? Thank the maker! We've been stood there for hours!'', one of the droids said to it's compatriot, who replied ''Hey, at least it's better than being assigned to garbage duty......'', it said, shaking it's head. The Count and his daughter strolled through the long corridors of the castle, which were lined with artwork, expensive furniture and various artifacts of old on display. ''I kept your personal quarters just the way you liked them, by the way. C7 is the only one who's been in and out of it in all these years.......''

[member="Isabele Morcus"]

 

[Songbird]

The halls of the castle were distinctly nostalgic for Isabele. She remembered running through these halls as a young child, hiding from C7 among the many artifacts. She did not know back then how useful those hiding sessions would prove to be in her adult life. The woman smiled as she gazed upon the artwork on the walls, bathing in memories.
"Oh? That's good. I imagine it must be rather messy, then. I wasn't the most clean and organized of teenagers, after all."
Ah, it felt. . . good, to be home. Even if she felt it was stifling when she left, even the stubborn Isabele had to admit that it's halls were a distinct joy to walk through once more.
"I must say, father, it's good to be home once more."

@Count Marcus

 

[Taa Nul]

Lannis smiled. ''And it's good to have you home. I hope you'll stay a while before running off again on another mission. Pursuing the family's interests is important, but I want to spend some time with my little girl.'', he said joyously, obviously glad to have her back. They soon arrived in the vast dining hall, where seats for the Count and his daughter had been set up at one end of the long dinner table so they could eat together and speak. He took a seat at his plate, smiling contently. ''So, tell me, how have you been while you've been off exploring the galaxy? Did your mission go smoothly?''

[member="Isabele Morcus"]

 

[Songbird]

Isabele's mouth watered as she stared upon the food. It had been weeks since she had had food this good. Her mission had involved many stake-outs, and she had been restricted to military rations, which were limited at the best of times.
She immediately dived into the meal, scarfing it down. It took her a minute to calm down, and to swallow enough to answer [member="Count Morcus"]'s question.

"It went well enough. I stalked the target for months, learning every little detail I possibly could. Obtained records, plans, and private communications. At your leisure, you may destroy them in a day with what I have gathered."
She beamed at her father, searching for any signs of approval.

 

[Taa Nul]

''Splendid. I'll see to it our kill teams are deployed to use the intel you've gathered to wipe them from the face of the galaxy. And I'm glad your enjoying the food! I cooked it just the way you used to like it.'', he said with a content sigh. ''I've news for you......it turns out our family may be ''larger'' than I originally foresaw. You know how I mentioned my sister who went to live on Naboo?'', he said, tilting his head at her.

[member="Isabele Morcus"]

 

[Songbird]

Isabele paused her consumption of the food, looking suspiciously at [member="Count Morcus"]. Bigger family? What exactly did that mean?
"Yes, I believe so." She responded carefully, slowly setting down her utensil. "Why? Is she coming to stay with us?"
Isabele had never met her aunt. She had heard stories, of course, but even then she had only a vague memory of those. Did her aunt have a family? Would she meet cousins?
She waited impatiently for her father's response.

 

[Taa Nul]

''No, but I have other news.....it turns out she had children, who had children of their own. The Denko family, they're known as now. You've a cousin or two.'', he said with a smile. ''And I'd like you to meet them at some point. I'll be paying them a visit sooner or later, and I wish for you to accompany me.'', he said with a nod, before making a start on the meal he'd cooked, hungrily gobbling some of it down. He hadn't eaten for most of the day due to preparing for his daughter's arrival.

[member="Isabele Morcus"]